U.S. patent number 4,672,818 [Application Number 06/904,415] was granted by the patent office on 1987-06-16 for three-member plastic rooftop air conditioner housing.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Intertherm Inc.. Invention is credited to James E. Roth.
United States Patent |
4,672,818 |
Roth |
June 16, 1987 |
Three-member plastic rooftop air conditioner housing
Abstract
A three-member molded plastic housing for rooftop air
conditioners, including base and intermediate members having molded
portions which together provide component lower and upper
compartment walls and blower scrolls. The third member, an outer
shroud, abuts sealedly along a roof ridge of the intermediate
member to prevent recirculation within the shroud of condenser
blower outlet air. The base member has downwardly molded
projections for facilitating positioning the unit over a roof
opening and resisting sideward forces.
Inventors: |
Roth; James E. (Desoto,
MO) |
Assignee: |
Intertherm Inc. (St. Louis,
MO)
|
Family
ID: |
25419112 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/904,415 |
Filed: |
September 8, 1986 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/239; 62/244;
62/295; 62/298 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60H
1/00364 (20130101); B60H 1/00535 (20130101); F24F
13/20 (20130101); B60H 2001/00235 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60H
1/00 (20060101); F24F 13/20 (20060101); F24F
13/00 (20060101); B60H 001/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/295,298,506,239,244 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Bennet; Henry A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Gross; Jerome A.
Claims
I claim:
1. A three-member molded plastic housing for a rooftop air
conditioning unit, comprising
(I) a molded plastic base member including base opening means to
receive return air to such unit, and to discharge conditioned air
therefrom, and to receive wiring from beneath such roof, and
means to provide lower half-walls for an evaporator compartment, an
evaporator blower compartment, and a condenser compartment
separator dividing its area into an inlet chamber side and an
outlet plenum side, and means to provide lower half-walls for a
motor compartment and a condenser blower compartment on said inlet
chamber side,
(II) a molded plastic intermediate member having means to provide
upper half-walls completing those lower half-wall elements recited
in (I) hereinabove, and including means to provide a condenser
blower compartment window across the condenser compartment
separator, further having
means to provide a roof for the evaporator and condenser
compartments and a ridge extending aft of said evaporator
compartment roof to an outer margin of said base member, in
combination with
(III) an upper shroud member having means to communicate inlet air
to such inlet chamber side and to permit exit of air from the
outlet plenum side of such condenser area compartment, together
with
sealing means, along said intermediate member ridge and between it
and the undersurface of said shroud, to prevent recirculation
within said shroud of air from such plenum side to such inlet
side.
2. A three member molded plastic housing for supporting and
separating the components of a rooftop air conditioning unit and
ducting airflows therethrough, generally having in plan form a
forward evaporator compartment, then an evaporator blower
compartment and then a condenser area, divided longitudinally into
an inlet chamber side and an outlet plenum side, said housing
comprising
(I) a base member having a bottom wall including a return air
opening, a conditioned air outlet, and a wiring raceway
opening,
portions molded upwardly from said bottom wall to define
a lower evaporator compartment half, said upwardly molded portions
including vertical forward and side halfwalls, the said return air
opening being inwardly adjacent to said forward half-wall, and
further to define aft of said evaporator compartment
a lower evaporator blower compartment having an inlet lower
half-wall leading aft from such evaporator compartment,
a side-and-bottom scroll wall rounded about a fore-and-aft axis, an
aft lower half-wall, and a scroll bottom containing said
conditioned air outlet,
said upwardly molded portions dividing such condenser area
longitudinally by a first separator half-wall and a second
separator half-wall terminating in a lower closure to the margin of
said base member,
said first separator half-wall defining on such inlet chamber side,
a motor compartment extending aft of the evaporator blower
compartment, said second separator half-wall defining the length of
a condenser blower compartment, therebeing upwardly molded, at its
forward juncture with the motor compartment, an inlet lower
half-wall, and an opposite half-wall at the end of said second
separator half-wall, said condenser blower compartment having,
between said opposite half-walls, lower half scroll portions,
rounded about the same axis as that of the evaporator blower scroll
portions and molded upward from said base member and spaced
inwardly from the adjacent side margin of the base member, whereby
such spacing provides room for mounting an upright condenser
coil,
there being means provided on said base member bottom wall, on the
outlet plenum side, for mounting a compressor,
said lower base member further having, forwardly on the outlet
plenum side of the condenser area, an upwardly molded vertical
wiring raceway, leading from said bottom wall raceway opening, said
invention further comprising
(II) an intermediate member having a roof portion, and having
portions molded downwardly therefrom to define
an upper evaporator compartment half, said downwardly molded
portions including forward and side walls adapted to mate with the
evaporator compartment walls of the base member, said downwardly
molded portions further defining, aft of such evaporator
compartment,
an upper evaporator blower compartment, having an inlet upper
half-wall, a rounded side-and-top scroll wall, and an upper aft
half-wall,
the roof having aft thereof, in such condenser area, a topmost
separator ridge and, aligned with the respective separator lower
half-walls of the base member
first and second upper portions terminating aft in an upper closure
mating with the lower closure of the base member,
said first upper portion including an access door to such motor
compartment, said second upper portion being a windowed condenser
blower scroll outlet between an inlet upper half-wall and an
opposite upper half-wall, there being between said opposite
half-walls, an upper half rounded scroll portion, all being so
downwardly molded, in combination with
(III) an upper shroud member having outer lower edges adapted for
securement to the perimeter of said base member, and having
an outer wall portion including air intake grilles on the inlet
chamber side of such condenser area and outlet grilles on its
outlet plenum side,
said upper shroud member further having an upper wall portion whose
inner surface is adapted to fit closely adjacent to said condenser
area separator ridge of the intermediate member, together with
means to seal against flow of air across and forwardly of said
condenser area separator ridge,
whereby to prevent recirculation within said shroud member of air
from the outlet plenum of such condenser area to the inlet chamber
thereof.
3. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2,
wherein the said intermediate member roof has an eave extending
sidewardly outward from such motor and condenser blower
compartments and above such condenser coil space of the base
member,
whereby to direct and confine the inflow of air through a condenser
coil occupying such space.
4. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the aft
opposite upper and lower half-walls of such condenser blower
compartment are configured to together provide a second inlet to
said compartment, and are spaced inwardly from the rear margin of
said base member,
whereby to extend such condenser coil space angularly to the aft
side of said second inlet to terminate at the said closure
means,
the said shroud inlet grilles including grilles at the aft side of
the shroud along such angularly extended space.
5. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the
evaporator compartment side walls, bottom and roof are provided, on
their inner sides, with molded insulating material,
there being an opening in said insulating material, on the inside
of the evaporator compartment bottom, corresponding to said return
air opening for the passage of air therethrough.
6. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the side
and aft lower half-walls of the evaporator blower compartment have
outer side vertical surfaces,
the base member further having upwardly formed wall portions
parallel to and spaced outwardly from said vertical surfaces,
there being insulating material provided in the spaces therebetween
and also on the outer sides of the rounded scroll walls of said
compartment.
7. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the said
upwardly molded half-walls of said base member terminate in a
common substantially horizontal plane.
8. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the
evaporator blower compartment aft wall is provided, at the juncture
of the upper and lower aft half-walls with such fore-and-aft axis,
with means for sealedly accommodating a rotating shaft.
9. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein the
intermediate member has, along the lower edge of downwardly formed
portions demarking the plenum, wiring passage hoods extending into
the plenum, whereby to accommodate wiring and protect it from
downflow of water.
10. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein said
base member bottom wall undersurface has a rectangular margin
circumscribing the said return air opening, the said conditioned
air outlet and the said wiring raceway opening,
there being molded means, inwardly adjacent to each of the four
sides of said rectangular margin, to project downward from said
bottom wall undersurface and to resist sideward forces,
whereby to facilitate locating said base member on a rooftop having
a rectangular opening of corresponding shape, and to resist
sideward displacement from such location.
11. A molded plastic housing as defined in claim 2, wherein said
base member bottom wall has, along its margin, intake grilles on
the inlet chamber side of the condenser area and outlet grilles on
its outlet plenum side in alignment with said grilles of said
shroud member.
12. A molded plastic base member for supporting and separating the
components of a rooftop air conditioning unit, said base member
comprising
a substantially horizontal base wall having along its undersurface
a rectangular margin circumscribing a return air opening, a
conditioned air outlet, and a wiring raceway opening,
(A) there being portions molded upwardly from said base wall to
define
a lower evaporator compartment, said upwardly molded portions
including vertical forward-and-side wall portions, the said return
air opening being inwardly adjacent to said forward wall
portion,
a lower evaporator blower compartment having an inlet lower wall
portion leading aft from such evaporator compartment, a
side-and-bottom scroll wall rounded about a fore-and-aft axis, an
aft lower wall portion, and a scroll bottom containing said
conditioned air outlet,
said upwardly molded portions further defining a condenser area
longitudinally divided into an inlet chamber side and an outlet
plenum side, said molded portions including
a first separator wall portion, and a second separator wall portion
terminating in a lower closure to the margin of said base member,
said molded portions further including
lower condenser blower compartment walls including a condenser
blower scroll wall rounded about the aforesaid fore-and-aft axis,
an inlet lower wall portion extending perpendicular to said second
separator wall portion at its juncture with said first separator
wall portion, and a lower wall portion opposite to said inlet wall
portion extending parallel thereto from the juncture of said second
separator portion with said lower closure,
said rounded blower scroll wall portion being spaced inwardly from
the adjacent side margin of the base member, whereby such spacing
provides room for mounting an upright condenser coil,
there being provided on said base member wall, on the outlet plenum
side, means for mounting a compressor,
said base member having, forwardly on the outlet plenum side, an
upwardly molded vertical wiring raceway leading from said base wall
raceway opening,
(B) the base member further having molded means inwardly adjacent
to each of the four sides of said rectangular margin, to project
downward from said base undersurface and to resist sideward
forces,
whereby to facilitate locating said base member on a rooftop having
a rectangular opening of corresponding shape, and to resist
sideward displacement from such location.
13. A base member as defined in claim 12, wherein the side and aft
wall portions of the evaporator blower compartment have outer side
vertical surfaces,
the base member further having upwardly formed wall portions
parallel to and spaced outwardly from said vertical surfaces,
there being insulating material provided in the spaces
therebetween,
there being further provided in the aforesaid lower evaporator
compartment, an insulating liner having a bottom opening
corresponding to said return air opening for the passage of air
therethrough.
14. An insulated molded plastic base member for a rooftop air
conditioning unit, said base member comprising
a substantially horizontal base wall having along its undersurface
a rectangular margin circumscribing a return air opening, and a
conditioned air outlet, there being portions molded upwardly from
said base wall to define
a lower evaporator compartment, said upwardly molded portions
including vertical forward and side wall portions, the said return
air opening being inwardly adjacent to said forward wall
portion,
a lower evaporator blower compartment having an inlet lower wall
portion leading aft from such evaporator compartment, an interior
side-and-bottom scroll wall rounded about a fore-and-aft axis, an
aft lower wall portion and a scroll bottom containing said
conditioned air outlet, the outer surface of said scroll side and
aft wall portions being vertical,
the base member having upwardly formed vertical wall portions
parallel to and spaced outwardly from said vertical side and aft
wall surfaces,
there being insulating material provided in the spaces
therebetween, there being further provided in the aforesaid lower
evaporator compartment an insulating liner having a bottom opening
corresponding to the said return air opening for the passage of air
therethrough.
15. A molded plastic base member as defined in claim 14, wherein
the said rectangular margin further circumscribes a wiring raceway
opening from which extends an upwardly molded vertical wiring
raceway, outwardly adjacent to one of the said parallel
outwardly-spaced side wall portions.
16. A molded plastic base member as defined in claim 14, there
being molded means inwardly adjacent to each of the four sides of
said rectangular margin to project downward from said base
undersurface and to resist sideward forces,
whereby to facilitate locating said base member on a rooftop having
a rectangular opening of corresponding shape, and to resist
sideward displacement from such location.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to rooftop air conditioners installed on
mobile homes, vans, boats and the like.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In air conditioners for installation on roofs of vans, mobile homes
and the like, a single-member base may provide a housing foundation
for locating air conditioning components. A common alignment for
these components is a forward evaporator compartment, followed by
an evaporator blower compartment, a motor compartment, and a
condenser blower compartment adjacent to the rear of the base.
In such units it is customary to use a number of individual sheet
metal pieces fastened onto the base and each other, to space the
components from each other and to provide compartment walls and
blower scrolls. Separate additional pieces provide for ducting
condenser exhaust air to outlet vents and preventing its re-entry
into condenser inlet chamber areas. Streamlined outer shrouds serve
merely to protect the assembled air conditioning components from
outside weather factors. Upon removing the shroud, there is no easy
access to those components which may need servicing; such servicing
ordinarily requires removal and replacement of numerous parts and
can require several hours of a serviceman's time.
A major part of time conventionally required for servicing may be
devoted to caulking. This would include not only providing new
caulking in those previously caulked joints which are broken when
the shroud is removed to service the unit, but also re-caulking
joints which have hardened and cracked in service, such as those at
junctions of vertical metal walls with a metal base. Such cracked
joints may seriously impair the cooling efficiency of the unit.
Caulking is also conventionally applied to seal the wiring raceway
entrance, into the base of the rooftop unit.
Vans and mobile homes are ordinarily provided with standard-sized
rectangular roof vents. On removing the vent covers, the rooftop
air conditioners may be installed over these vents, to accommodate
both return air and the delivery of conditioned air. Generally, it
is necessary to have some securement means to react sideward and
fore-and-aft forces, such as bumping, bouncing, cross-winds, etc.
This is of particular importance for installations on the roofs of
railroad cars.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The complex assembly and servicing requirements for prior art
rooftop air conditioners are minimized by the molded plastic
three-piece housing of the present invention. The three members are
a base member to which the air conditioning components are mounted
in the typical conventional alignment above mentioned, an
intermediate member, and a shroud. The base member and intermediate
member meet at a substantially central mating plane; together they
provide at least lower and upper molded halves for the evaporator
and the condenser area compartment walls and scrolls, and in the
preferred embodiment, the wiring raceway and its hood. The shroud
abuts sealedly along a ridge on the roof of the intermediate member
to prevent recirculation within the shroud of outlet air from the
condenser blower. The intermediate member is so tailored as to
leave the outlet plenum side open when the shroud is removed. This
openness, together with a simple access door from the plenum outlet
side into the motor compartment, affords easy access for servicing
all the components aft of the evaporator compartment.
The undersurface of the base housing member includes a single
self-locating rectangular area. This area includes an opening
through which the room air is returned upward from the room space;
and through this same rectangular area the conditioned air is
discharged downward. This area also contains the lower opening of
an integrally molded wiring raceway. Molded locator projections,
extending downward inwardly of the margin of this rectangular area,
facilitate the positioning of the unit onto a roof and provide
resistance to sideward displacement during movement of the
vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a threemember housing for
a rooftop air ccnditioner embodying the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an assembled plan view, partly broken away, of the base
and intermediate members of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a plan view from below corresponding to FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2. The
outer shroud is shown installed in phantom lines.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross section taken along line 5--5 of FIG.
2.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross section taken along line 6--6 of FIG.
2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The molded plastic rooftop air conditioner housing of the present
invention, generally designated 10 and shown assembled in FIG. 1,
includes three members, a base member generally designated 14, an
intermediate member generally designated 120, and an outer shroud
member generally designated 190, all hereafter described.
The base member 14 is molded from an engineering grade of
structural foam plastic, selected by conventional engineering
procedures to be sufficiently strong to support the chosen
components of an air conditioning unit. Proceeding from the left in
FIGS. 1 and 4, its area includes the lower halves of a forward
evaporator compartment 16, an evaporator blower compartment 18, and
a condenser area generally designated 80.
The undersurface of the base member 20, shown in FIG. 3, is
provided, near its forward end, with a molded rectangular margin 22
having inwardly thereof a plurality of downwardly molded
projections 24. The projections 24 are used to locate the base 14
about an opening, of substantially the same size as the margin 22,
in the roof of the vehicle upon which the base member 14 is to be
mounted. The margin 22 is lined with a sealing gasket 26.
Within the rectangular margin 22 is a forward rectangular opening
28 through which return air, entering from the room space below the
roof, flows upward. Aft of the return air opening 28 is an outlet
30, surrounded by a sealing strip 31, for the downward discharge of
conditioned air into the room space. Adjacent to the outlet 30, is
a wiring raceway opening 32, seen in FIG. 5, through which the air
conditioner wiring 34 extends downward into the room space. Such
wiring 34 is retained against the base member 14 by a metal closing
clip 36. A rigid foam insulating liner 38 fits against a rounded
undersurface portion of an evaporator blower scroll bottom wall 64,
later described.
Aft of the rectangular margin 22, the base undersurface 20 may be
provided with resilient support pads 40, preferably of the same
material as the margin gasket 26. In the embodiment shown in FIG.
3, such pads 40 are located at the rear of the base member 14 and
also along one side below where a compressor is to be mounted as
hereinafter described.
Further referring to FIG. 2, the base member 14 is provided along
its outer margin 42 with air intake and outlet ventilating slots
44, 46 which supplement similar slots of the shroud member 190, as
later described.
The top surface of the base member 14 is provided with a series of
portions molded upwardly from the bottom wall 48, which for the
most part, have upper edges 50 terminating in a common,
substantially horizontal plane. These provide lower half
compartment walls and lower scrolls for the air conditioner
components. As best shown in FIG. 1, these portions include the
forward and side lower half-walls 52, 54 of the evaporator
compartment 16 which are outwardly adjacent to the return air
opening 28. A portion of the bottom wall 48 immediately aft of the
return air opening 28 and extending from one side wall 54 to the
other provides a transverse bridge 56 for supporting an evaporator
coil, not shown.
Aft of the evaporator coil bridge 56 and centered between angled
flanking portions 58 is a venturi inlet half-wall 60 leading to the
evaporator blower compartment 18. This compartment is further
defined by a side and bottom scroll wall 62, which is rounded about
a fore-and-aft scroll axis a-a and which contains the conditioned
air downward outlet 30, as well as by an aft half-wall 66. The
outer side surfaces 68 of the side and aft walls 62, 66 are
vertical. Parallel to and spaced outwardly from them are
surrounding left and right side wall portions 70 and a rear wall
portion 74, which joins the angled flanking portions 58 as shown in
FIG. 1.
A molded one-piece foam insulating liner 76, best seen exploded in
FIG. 1, lines the inner surfaces of the forward and side walls 52,
54 and the bridge portion 56 of the evaporator compartment 16, as
well as the spaces between the vertical outer side surfaces 68 and
the parallel surrounding wall portions 70, 74. The insulating liner
76 has a bottom opening 78, corresponding to the return air opening
28; it has no bottom between its vertical walls, which fit in the
insulation space about the vertical sides and rear surfaces 68 of
the evaporator compartment 32. It is shown installed in FIG. 4.
Aft of the evaporator blower compartment is the condenser area 60.
As shown in FIG. 1, it is divided into a narrower outlet plenum
side 84 and a wider inlet chamber side 82 by a series of
aft-extending walls, including a first separator half-wall 86 and a
second separator half-wall 88; it terminates in a lower closure 90
extending to the base margin 42.
The first separator half-wall 86, seen in FIG. 1, defines, on the
inlet chamber side 82, a motor compartment 92. Metal motor mounts
94, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 4, are provided for mounting a
motor within this compartment; to stabilize the forward mount, the
aft surrounding wall 74 of the evaporator blower compartment 18 is
thickened locally at its center, as by the thickened wall 96 shown
in FIG. 4. Four lands 98 for mounting a compressor are provided on
the outlet plenum side 84 of the separator half-wall 86.
The second separator half-wall 88, likewise seen in FIG. 1, defines
the length of a condenser blower compartment 100. On the inlet
chamber side 82 of the wall, the compartment 100 has two opposite
inlets. The first inlet half-wall 102 extends perpendicular to the
second separator half-wall 88, at its juncture with the first
separator half-wall 86. Opposite it is a second inlet half-wall
104. Between these two inlet half-walls 102, 104 is the lower half
scroll 106 of the condenser blower compartment 100, rounded about
the fore-and-aft axis a-a and seen in FIGS. 1 and 6. Opposite to
the second separator half-wall 88 is a vertical outer half-wall 108
for the condenser scroll, seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
6.
The inlet lower half-walls of the evaporator and condenser blower
compartments 60, 102 and 104 have rounded venturi openings. Each of
these walls may be thicker than other walls of the base member 14
so as to provide the curved shape needed. To achieve this
thickness, without affecting the curing time, these walls may be
cored upward.
Also provided on the outlet plenum side 84 of the condenser area 80
and immediately adjacent to the evaporator blower compartment 18 is
a vertical wiring raceway 110, molded upwardly from the wiring
raceway opening 32. A narrow L-shaped bottom wall 112 space for a
condenser coil is provided just inwardly of the right and rear
margins of the base member, that is, outward of the juncture of the
second condenser inlet 104 with the outer half-wall 108, which
supports the scroll wall 106.
Upper half compartment walls and upper scrolls for the chosen air
conditioning components are provided by portions molded downwardly
from roof portions of the intermediate member 120. For the most
part, these downwardly molded portions have lower edges 122
terminating in a substantially horizontal mating plane.
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper half of the evaporator compartment
116 has at its juncture with the evaporator blower compartment 18,
a relatively narrow transverse roof portion 124 from which extends
downwardly-molded side half-walls 126 and a downwardly sloping
forward half-wall 128. The lower edges 122 of these forward and
side upper half-walls 128, 126 may be slightly flanged outwardly
and downwardly so as to provide a secure, water-resistant fit over
the upper edges 50 of the corresponding forward and side half-walls
52, 54 of the base member 14.
Along the rear of the evaporator compartment roof 124, and
extending on each side downward to the mating plane, is a
transverse ridge 130 covered with a resilient sealing strip 132.
Two parallel sealing strips 134 of the same material extend
perpendicularly from the transverse ridge 130 to the edge of the
forward wall 128. A liner 136 of rigid foam insulation is formed to
fit closely against the inner surfaces of the roof 124 and the side
and forward walls 126, 128.
Aft of the evaporator compartment roof ridge 130 is the inlet upper
half-wall 138 to the evaporator blower compartment 18, formed to
mate with the lower inlet half-wall 60 of the base member 14, as
shown in the broken away portion of FIG. 1. The compartment 18 is
further defined by a side-and-top scroll wall 140 rounded about the
same fore-and-aft axis a-a as the side-and-bottom scroll wall 62 of
the base member 14, as well as by an upper aft half-wall 142. As
seen in FIG. 5, at the juncture of the lower aft half-wall 66 of
the base member 14 with this upper aft half-wall 142 is a centrally
located rounded opening 146 provided with a seal, not shown, for
accommodating the motor shaft.
Mating with the lower evaporator blower compartment outer or
surrounding side wall portions 70 of the base member 14, are two
vertical outer upper walls 148 extending aft from the upper inlet
wall 138 to the upper aft half-wall 142; these are spaced outwardly
from the side-and-top scroll wall 140, as seen in FIG. 5. A
semi-cylindrical rigid foam insulating liner 150, shown exploded in
FIG. 1 and in place in FIGS. 2 and 5, is molded to fit over the
outer surface of the upper scroll wall 140, in the space provided
between these outer walls 148 and the side-and-top scroll wall 140.
The liner 150 is provided with a narrow fore-and-aft sealing strip
152 of resilient material, extending aft from the transverse
sealing strip 132, to a top central roof ridge 164 hereafter
referred to.
The first upper portion 154 is an aft-extending vertical wall which
mates with the first separator half-wall 86 of the base member 14.
It has a rectangular opening normally closed by a removable access
door 160 to the motor compartment 92. This opening and its access
door 160 extends upward from the first upper wall portion 154, then
angularly sideward toward the roof ridge 164 to join that portion
of the roof 162 over the motor compartment 92. The roof 162
continues across it to the eave 166 which covers the condenser coil
space 112 as hereinafter described. The side of the motor
compartment 92 adjacent to this coil space is open.
The lower edge 122 of the first upper portion 154 is provided with
a wiring passage hood 168 on its outlet plenum side 84 which fits
closely over the upper edge 50 of the first separator wall 86. As
seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hood 168 accommodates and protects
wiring 34 to the motor compartment 92, clamping it in a
downward-bent loop so that any rain water may drip off harmlessly
(see phantom lines in lower illustration of FIG. 1); also making a
conventional strain relief fitting unnecessary. A second wiring
passage hood 170, best seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, provided on the
outlet plenum side 84 adjacent to the evaporator blower compartment
18, similarly protects and restrains the wiring emerging from the
vertical wiring raceway 110 of the base member 14.
As seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, the second upper portion 156 is in effect
a window from the condenser blower compartment 100, extending from
the upper edge 50 of the base member second separator half-wall 88
to the roof 162. There is provided on the inlet chamber side 82 of
the condenser area 80 and molded downward from the roof 162, first
and second upper inlet half-walls 172, 174 to mate with the
corresponding inlet half-walls 102, 104 of the base member 14.
Between these inlets 172, 174 and opposite the condenser blower
compartment window 156 is the upper half scroll portion 176, cored
for molding downward from the roof 162 and rounded about the
fore-and-aft axis a-a, shown in FIG. 6. A vertical outer wall 178
is molded downwardly from the roof 162 to mate with the lower outer
half-wall 108 of the base member 14.
As referred to hereinabove, the roof 162 of the intermediate member
120, best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a topmost ridge 164 running
centrally aft from its juncture with the evaporator blower
compartment 18 to the second upper inlet 174 and then transversely
along the upper closure 158 and down to the mating plane. The ridge
164 is provided with a resilient sealing strip 180 along its full
length.
The roof 162 is further provided with an outwardly extending eave
166, seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, on the inlet chamber side 82.
Commencing at the evaporator blower compartment aft wall 142, it
extends aft and then inward, over the L-shaped condenser coil space
112, to the upper closure 158. It directs and confines the inflow
of air through the condenser coil space 112.
The intermediate member 120 is secured to the base member 14 by a
plurality of screws into the foam plastic material of that member.
Such screws, not shown, extend through lugs molded onto the upper
half compartment walls, which lugs terminate at the horizontal
mating plane. The screws engage lands, extending upward from the
base member 14 along its upward extending walls, to meet the lugs
at the mating plane. Typical are the forward and central lugs 182,
184 shown in the center illustration of FIG. 1, and the forward and
central lands 186, 188 shown in its bottom illustration.
The third member of the air conditioner housing 10 is a low-profile
shroud 190 of a high-impact, injection molded or thermal formed
plastic, shown exploded in FIG. 1 and in place in phantom lines in
FIG. 4. It is a thin streamlined shell-like enclosure whose lower
edge 192 conforms to the margin 42 of the base member 14. The base
member has, inwardly of its margin 42, a plurality of
shroud-stabilizing projections 43 extending upward along the inner
mold line of the shroud 190, starting with and continuing at
intervals aft of the transverse ridge 130. Attachment of the shroud
190 to the base member 14 is by readily removable screws, not
shown.
The shroud's forward wall 194 slopes upwardly from its lower edge
192 to fit closely against the forward upper wall of the evaporator
compartment 128. Commencing at the edge 192, its right and left
side 196, 198 and aft 200 walls begin substantially vertically, and
slope to merge into the top wall 206. The right side and aft walls
196, 200 contain a plurality of ventilating slots 202 through which
air is drawn in into the condenser coil space 112. The left side
wall 196 has ventilating slots 204, symmetrical with those of the
right side wall 198, through which air flows that has been
discharged through the condenser blower compartment window 156.
These slots 202, 204 cooperate with the corresponding slots 44, 46
of the base member 14 to provide maximum air flow. The top wall 206
of the shroud 190 has a crest running aft and then transversely to
the side juncture of the top wall 206 with the aft and left side
walls 200, 196, shown by the phantom line 208, which is in
registration with the separator ridge 164 of the intermediate
member 120.
As seen in FIG. 4, when the shroud 190 is placed over the
intermediate member 120 and attached to the base member 14 with its
undersurface drawn tightly against the sealing strips described,
its forward wall 194 fits sealedly against the two parallel sealing
strips 134 of the intermediate member forward evaporator
compartment wall 128. The transverse ridge 130 with its sealing
strip 132 at the aft end of the evaporator compartment 16 fits
sealedly against the undersurface of the shroud side and top walls
196, 198, 206 to seal off the evaporator compartment 16 from the
condenser area compartments. Hence, behind the transverse ridge
130, the shroud 190 is divided by the fore-and-aft sealing strips
152, 180 into sealed inlet chamber and outlet plenum sides 82, 84,
and circulation of air between the two sides is prevented.
The construction of the present invention greatly simplifies the
installation of the air conditioner components. The housing 10
replaces the conventional use of a number of individual pieces
fastened onto a base and to each other to provide compartment walls
and scrolls; the base and intermediate members 14, 120 alone serve
these functions. The installation of the assembled rooftop air
conditioner is speeded by the locating projections 24 on the
undersurface 20 of the base member 14; these not only locate and
position the base over the vehicle's vent opening, they also serve
as skid members which protect the gasket 26 as the unit is slid
into position. Further they prevent sideward displacement of the
base 14 during movement of the vehicle.
An outstanding advantage of the present invention is that the time
required for opening the unit for servicing, and closing it after
servicing, is reduced to a small fraction of that heretofore
required. There are no caulked joints to be opened and replaced.
Upon removal of the shroud 190 and the access door 160 to the motor
compartment 90, all of the air conditioner components aft of the
evaporator blower compartment 18 are easily accessed for servicing,
including the motor, the controls and their wiring, the compressor,
and the condenser coil.
The present substitution of integrally molded and filleted walls
and scrolls for separate pieces having caulked joints, also greatly
extends the effective useful life of the entire air conditioner.
With age, caulked joints become brittle; shock and vibration
accompanying use on a moving recreational vehicle will crack such
joints. If not recaulked by a skilled serviceman, an otherwise
useful unit may readily lose efficiency, say approximately 15%,
within a relatively short time. In contrast the integral fillets of
the base and intermediate members 14, 120 provide for stream flow
of air without any caulking. The foam material itself is an
excellent insulator, improving the efficiency of air
conditioning.
As modifications may be made in the constructions herein described
and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention,
it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing
description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be
interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting.
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